A MAN WALKS TOWARDS THE UNITED BANK OF SWITZERLAND BRANCH IN NY, 1998-07-20 (photo)

A man walks past an entrance to a branch of the United Bank of Switzerland in New York July 20. United States government officials gave Jewish negotiators written assurances that Swiss banks would quickly settle Holocaust claims if they dropped opposition to a pending merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporartion. The merger took place, creating the United Bank of Switzerland, but the promised offer was then found to be unacceptable by the Jewish side. As a result, talks on the issue have been stalled amid a series of bitter arguments. PM/SB